Why I Chose Hillsdale: Gordon Behr
Written by Gordon Behr
Late into my senior year of high school I still had no idea where I wanted to attend college. All I knew was that if I got the opportunity to play basketball, I would take it, and just hope the academics ended up being solid as well.
My attitude toward learning began to change as high-school graduation approached. I finally discovered my passion for politics and knew I wanted to pursue it at the highest level I could. Around this same time, my parents became worried about my indecision and began making me send out applications to colleges I’d never heard of.
One of those schools was Hillsdale.
As I began to learn more about Hillsdale, I was attracted to the way it balanced academics and sports. On my visit, Coach Tharp assured my parents and I that Hillsdale expects its athletes to work just as hard in the classroom as anyone else. This commitment to excellence both in the classroom and on the court sold me on the College.
I committed to play basketball at Hillsdale without fully understanding what I signed up for. I struggled through my first semesters and wondered how I would survive Hillsdale’s core curriculum.
The pieces finally started to fall into place my sophomore year as I learned to handle the workload. My professors also went out of their way to help me succeed in class. When I took intermediate microeconomics―the most feared class in the economics department―I struggled at first, but Dr. Clark continued to send emails encouraging me to come to office hours for extra help.
The professors weren’t the only ones who pushed me to be better. I was surrounded by impressive students who honestly made me feel average. Their passion for knowledge motivated me to work even harder.
As I became a part of the Hillsdale community, I began to understand the work ethic that my coach spoke about during my visit. Mediocrity is not a sentiment that Hillsdale students or faculty accept, but it’s easy to grab onto the momentum when the entire community is striving for excellence alongside you.
Gordon Behr, class of 2019, studies politics and economics. He also plays for the Hillsdale College Men’s Basketball team.
Published in November 2018